Diary of a Billionaire
by moonmaid
Summary: Lex's thoughts immediately after "Skinwalkers"


Title: Diary of a Billionaire

Author: moonmaid

Rating: PG--I'm pretty sure there's only one teeny little bad word

Category: General

Pairing: Chloe/Lex, but only very slightly at the end

Spoilers: Skinwalkers

Summary: Lex's thoughts right after "Skinwalkers"

Disclaimer: I own nothing, more's the pity

Author's Note: Pretty self-explanatory; just a little something I wrote.

Finally, that whole business with the caves is handled. The land is under my control now, despite my father's efforts to see that it stayed out of my hands. He'll be doing everything he can to figure out why I wanted it in the first place—now that he's decided I have an ulterior motive for trying to buy him out, he's going to be even more suspicious of any moves I make regarding the caves. I threw him off with my offer, if only momentarily. I knew he wouldn't take it, that my words would only serve to call attention to my interest, but the trade-off was worth it: if he thought there was something valuable about that land, he wouldn't sell it to anyone else, either. It was a calculated risk, but then, so is life. Maybe I'll leave some "evidence" around for him to find. I need to keep him occupied and out of my hair—figuratively speaking.

Meanwhile, I need to figure out what _his_ real motivations were with that office park. Honestly—a Luthor Corp. office park in Smallville? Who is he trying to fool? Luthor Corp.'s only real interest here is the plant, and that belongs to Lex Corp. now. Oh, he'd love to have everyone think that he's doing this to create jobs that the town needs. But if it's true that altruism isn't in my blood, then it's because that blood came from him. No, he isn't doing this out of the goodness of his heart. The only logical reason for having that complex built is if he's planning on staying here in Smallville. But why stay here, in the town he exiled me to, the town he was so desperate to get me out of recently? Is it to keep an eye on me? Make sure I'm not gearing up for a coup?

He wanted me as his partner on this project. That in itself is suspicious. "Sentimentality is synonymous with vulnerability." It's a concept I've tried not to embrace wholeheartedly, but with Dad there's no denying that it's true. And he wouldn't expose himself to that vulnerability unless there was something major to gain from it. I figure his motives were most likely one of two things. One, get me to sink a good chunk of my capital into the project and make sure it fails. What I'm building will be powerful, but right now it's new, fragile—easily destroyed if I get careless. And despite his assurances that he's proud of the work I've done, I know that he doesn't truly want me to build up a strong empire of my own—that would mean power of my own, being out from under his control. And Luthors do not easily cede control. The second possibility is that he had plans to make an ally rather than a dangerous opponent. If your rival has the potential to become stronger than you are, it's always safer to form an alliance than to risk them becoming your enemy. Whatever his motives, though, one thing is clear: I'm making him nervous. Good. Even so, the situation bears watching.

Perhaps Mrs. Kent can keep him at least partially under control. I know she was the one who arranged the flowers and condolence call to the foreman's family; Dad's thinking only extended so far as to add money onto the man's insurance settlement—paying off the family to forestall an attempt to sue. (I must say, I was shocked when I heard about the accident—it's not like my father to hire someone incompetent enough to fire a flare gun around a giant gasoline drum, especially when simply getting in the truck would have been far more effective.) I have to keep in mind, though, that where Martha Kent is concerned I don't trust my father any farther than I can throw him. (That statement has always seemed off to me—given the chance and a little bit of leverage, I think I'd be able to throw him a good distance. Maybe one of these days I'll get to test that theory.) I can see him trying to use that oily charm of his on her; I'll have to keep an eye on that situation, as well. 

With Dad snooping around, I'll have to be extremely careful in looking into those caves. He was, of course, correct in assuming that I had some larger aim in wanting to preserve them. I'll be the first to admit that I rarely make a move without some kind of agenda. Everything I do, I do for a reason, and those caves may be the key to figuring out what the hell happened to me in that damn cornfield twelve years ago. 

What was Clark's motivation, I wonder? Other than the girl, that is—Clark is a good kid, but he's awfully easy to predict when a girl is involved. That can't have been his only reason, though. Call it insight, instinct, whatever, but I can tell there was something driving him that he wasn't telling me about. How is it possible for someone to be so naïve and still have so many secrets lurking beneath the surface? Lana seems as frustrated by his secrecy as I am; although I suspect her frustration also has its roots in Clark's sudden lack of interest. It seems that underneath that curious mix of genuineness and mystery of his, Clark Kent is still very much a teenage boy: a pretty girl shows an interest and he's leaving his feelings for Lana in the dust. No, that's not quite true—Chloe Sullivan showed a great interest in him, but she never came close to throwing over Lana in his affections.

Clark's relationship with Chloe mystifies me. He told me she was the one who told him about Skinwalkers in the first place, but that he hadn't wanted to listen to her; he was afraid he had hurt her feelings. (As a side note, it's always fascinated me how the people in this town are able to pick and choose what unexplainable phenomena to believe as true. A blind woman who sees the future, a high school student who can suck out a person's body heat—these are acceptable to Clark Kent. But when Ms. Sullivan tells him that people can shape-shift into wolves, he refuses to believe because the consequences are uncomfortable for him.) Even if he _did _hurt her, though, I know shell forgive him. That's one of the mystifying things: even though Clark often takes her for granted and ignores what she tells him, she's still loyal to him. I can't help but wonder what it would be like to have someone care about you like that, to accept you no matter what. For my part, I'm stuck with Dad. I'll be watching him—he won't wait long to make his next move.


End file.
